Memorial Day: a time to celebrate and contemplate

The Park Record editorial, May 27-30, 2017

This Memorial Day weekend, in between passing plates of hamburgers and potato salad, we hope local families will take time to think about the men and women who fought in our country's Armed Services. Too many of them lost their lives actively protecting our freedoms and lavish lifestyles to be forgotten.

This year, as the prospect of global conflict looms once again, it is especially important to remember those sacrifices. As our neophyte leaders are beginning to realize, our nation's security is based on a precarious network of global alliances, many of which were forged on bloody battlefields in the hopes the world would never see another war.

On Memorial Day, as we decorate the graves of veterans from Park City, Coalville, Kamas and throughout Summit County, we would do well to expand our sense of patriotism beyond our borders and recommit ourselves to that endeavor.

To do so, we must also instill the lessons of history in our children. Thanks in large part to to the soldiers who fought overseas, very few young Americans have felt the horror of war firsthand. They have never seen the devastation their counterparts in some parts of the world live with every day.

As parents and teachers, it is our responsibility to ensure the next generation comprehends the difference between a video game battle and a real one, and that they understand the price our Armed Forces pay each day to keep their country safe.

Memorial Day offers a perfect opportunity to reinforce the values of courage and sacrifice. It is a good reminder for all of us that the drumbeat of political rhetoric has consequences, something our forefathers knew all too well.

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As part of Monday's commemoration, flags should be flown at half-mast until noon. Citizens are also asked to participate in a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m.

On Monday, the Park City post of the American Legion will hold a ceremony at 9 a.m. at the cemetery on Kearns Boulevard. There will also be a series of similar events at each cemetery in North Summit beginning in Wanship at 8 a.m. and ending in Coalville at noon.